Railway-crossing



H. H. ASKE W.

RAILWAY CROSSING.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2?. 1915.

1 ,3 1 2,090. Patented Aug. 5, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Invenior. j

H. H. ASKEW.

RAILWAY ca ossme. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 27. 19I5- 1 ,3 1 2,090,Patented Aug. 5, 1919..

2 SHEET$SHEET 2.

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Specification of Letters Patent. Patented: A11g35, 1919.

- AppIicatibn filed. November 27, 1915. Serial No. 63,755.

To all whom it may concern: a y

Be it known that I, HARVEY H. Asnnw, a citizen of the United States,residing at Los Angeles, in the countyofLosAngeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Railway-Crossings, of which the following is a specification. a

This invention relates to improvements in a railway crossing andespecially such as must be used where. tracks, crossing each other areordinarily formed with considerable gaps or openings for the passage ofthe wheel flanges on the rolling stock of. the road. i a

It is an object of the invention among other things, to provide acrossing in which a substantially continuous and unbroken support willbe offered the wheels of rolling stock no matter in which direction thetravel may be.

It is also an object of the invention to provide adjustable wheelsupporting elements for bridging the spaces between the main portions ofthe track at a railway crossing, means also being provided for thedepression of said intermediate members when necessary to accommodatethe flange of passing railwaywheelsh V It is a further object of the.invention to provide a railwa crossing with depressible members adaptedto form continuous wheel supports between the parts of the crossing andto provide supportingmeans capable of being thrown beneath saiddepressible members for holding them in wheel supporting position. i

It is a stlll further object of the invention to provide a railwaycrossing with depressi ble members for completing wheel a supportingportions of the tracks at a crossing and to provide spring actuatingsupports; normally holding the said depressible members in wheelsupporting position, means; being also provided for autoinaticallythrowing the supporting means outof supporting position so that thedepressible members may yield under the action of. thewheel flanges.

With these and other-objects in. view,.tlie

invention comprises certain novellconstructions, combinations and.arrangements of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described andclaimed. a

In the accompanyingdrawing forming part of thisspecification;

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a railway crossing embodying the featuresof the present invention.

Fig. 21 is a longitudinal central sectional view through one of thetrack portions of a crossing, and showing the mechanism for operatingthetrack supporting means at the crosslng. a a

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of the portion of the. switchmechanism showing a modified form of means for throwing the supports outof supporting position.

Fig. 4% is a top plan view of a modified form of a. railway crossing, inwhich the supports for the depressible sections are normally out ofsupporting position;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken upon the line. a b ofFig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail sectional View taken through one-half ofthe crossing and showing oneof the cradles depressed by the passage ofcar wheels. i Fig. Tie a perspective view of one of the cradles showninfull lines and a companion cradle shown in dotted lines together withsome of the details of the crossing also shownin position. i y I .In theaccompanying drawing preferred embodiments of the invention have beenshown andthe details andfeaturesthereof will now be more specificallydescribedwith. reference thereto. In the accompanying drawing 5 and6indicate fixed rails of a crossing, the said railsbeing shown at rightangles to each other, though ofcourse, it will be readily understoodthatthey may be arranged at various angles with respect to each. otherwithout departing in the least from the spirit of the invention. Thesaid crossing is also provided withintermediate wheel supporting members7 and 8 adapted to bridge the space between the fixed portions 5 and 6of the crossing. The wheel supporting portions 7 and 8 .are depressible.devices; which may. be termed cradles and have side bars 9 and .10respec-; tively and wheel engaging end portions 11 and .12. These'sidebars 9 and 10 and the actuatingarm 37 connected by a rod38 with a lever39 which is similar to lever 86, whereby the members 14 may bemanipulated manually when desired; The said levers may be provided withthe usual notched segments and with a spring actuated pawl or bolt forholding the lever in' its adjusted position, as for instanceasshown inFig. 3.

In the modified form shown inFig. 4:, for instance, the depressibleinterlocking track sectionsmay be free to descend under the action ofthe wheel flanges, the supporting" members in this instance beingnormally out of supporting position instead of in supporting position asin the form of device shown in Fig. 1. With this form of the de vicealso the depressing of one of the cradles upon the approach of rollingstock, operates immediately to move the supporting devices beneath theother cradle, so as to hold the track sections firmly in elevatedposition beneath the treads of the wheels. Thus the crossing of thismodified form may be provided with wheel supporting sections 4% and 15forming pants of cradles 46 and 47 and being fitted within the crossingtracks l8 and 49. Immediately beneath the wheel supporting sections 44;and 15 are rocking supporting members 50" and 51 which are pivoted orotherwise movably supported upon the base of the crossing so that theymay be brought vertically beneath the said wheel supporting sections 1stor 4:5. The upper edges of the said supporting members are provided withflanges 52 for limiting the inward movement of the said supportingmembers. Springs 53 connect the upper edges of said supporting memberswith standards 5st which rise from the base of the crossing, the saidsprings normally keeping the supporting members in their open oroutwardly rocked positions as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing. Thestructure of the device is also such that when one of the cradles isdepressed by the flanges of car wheels, the rocking supporting membersof the other cradle will be thrown beneath the wheel supporting sectionsto be used by the car. For this purpose hinged trip pieces 55 aremounted at the lower edge of each supporting member and are providedwith inwardly projecting, cradle engaging lips 56. The outer ends of thetrip members 55 extend upwardly outside the supporting members 50 and 51and springs 57 are interposed between the two members, the structurebeing such that when the cradle is depressed upon the lips 56 the outerend of the trip pieces 55 will be forced against the springs 57sufficiently to carry the supporting members 50 and 51 into verticalposition beneath the wheel supporting track sections. The structure isthus such that when the car wheels strike the cradle 47 and depress it,the supportingmeinbers 50 will be thrown inwardly immediately andbeneath the track sections the outer sides of the wheel supporting tracksections 414 and 45 so as to cover the joint between the supportingmembers and the said track sections, against the falling of dirt or gritinto the working parts of the mechanism and interfering with itsoperation.

The perspective view illustrated by Fig. 7 shows the interlockingcradles with notches or openings 68 provided, which allows one cradle toiinpend the other and permit ample space for the up and down movement ofthe parts when wheels are passing over the crossing. The interlockingcradles are deposed parallel tothe crossing tracks and when in operativeposition form a continuous and noiseless crossing.

The construction of the railway crossing may be modified in variousways, the sup porting members 13 may be constructed to swing from theinside instead of from the outside as shown, and it will thus be evidentthat many of the minor details of construction maybe changed inembodying the invention in practical form and many mechanicalequivalents may be substituted for the parts described and shown allwithin the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A railway crossing having transverse sections adapted to bridge thespace between the adjacent ends of crossing road ways, movable membersadapted to be rocked back and forth beneath said transverse sections,movable means adapted to move said rocking members whereby flanges ofwheels may operate the said members in one direction,

and springs normally moving said rocking members in the oppositedirection.

2. A railway crossing having depressible track sections, supportingmembers adapted to be moved beneath said track sections when they are tobe made to support wheels, trip members carried by said movable supportsand adapted to be operated by the-depression of one set of tracksections and spring means for withdrawing the said supports from beneaththe said track sections when the wheels are passing the crossing.

3. .A railway crossing having depressible track sections, rockingsupports beneath said sections and adapted to be brought in alinementtherewith forholding them in wheel supporting position, springs normallyholdof for protecting them against dirt or other 10 ing said'supportsout of Wheel supporting foreign materials.

position, pivoted trip members carried by In testimony whereof I havehereunto set said supports and adapted to be operated by my hand inpresence of two Witnesses.

one set of track sections, whereby the other set of track sections atthe crossing will be HARVEY ASIXEVV' supported by the supporting membersbe- Witnesses:

neath them and flanges overhanging said CASSELL SnvnRANon,

supporting sections and movable parts there EARLE R. POLLARD.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. c."

